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Of gods and faith
Of the many gods that have roamed the world in the old times, only eight have secured a firm place in the holy heavens of celestia. More lesser deities remain in this realm, but they find little worship. Their influence is meagre and their power is slim. The eight, however, are mighty and strong. They have abolished all other gods that are not part of their pantheon and branded them heathens, forbidding their worship for all who fall under the Pantheons might. Not all civilised races have taken up the pantheon faith, however. The lowborn elves have been known to worship heathen gods of nature and the wilds, for instance, and many other small cults are spread over the world. In the human kingdom of Estalia, the creed of the pantheon is a state religion. Any who defy it must pay the price. Be it homage to the lord of the land, or worse. Dwarves follow only a part of the Pantheon. They hold a strong faith for the Forger which is their patron god. The rest of the pantheon is only mildly worshipped as servants to their great all father who, in their eyes, forged the known races from the stones of the earth. In the west, in the desert dunes of Irtaka, the people worship the beast as the most important god of the pantheon. The holy centaur is a revered and holy creature in their culture. The Pantheon of Eight The crusader The defender of justice and righteousness. The Crusader is one of the three war gods, lending his blessings in battle only when the cause is just and not mere conquest. He is the judge. His domains are War, Glory, Judgement, Nobility and Protection. He is Lawful good. 'The beast' The god of travel and trade. Patron deity of the human lands of Irtaka. His holy creature is the centaur, being the most pure form of a fusion between man and weapon. He has an extreme hatred against the heathen god Llolth, which creates unnatural fusions between monsters and man. The beast is one of the war gods, lending his blessing to the army that fights for expansion and greatness. The survival of the fittest. His domains are Travel, Animal, War and Strength. He is neutral good. 'The Cleansing flame' The mother of life and fire. The cleansing flame is the goddess of life and fertility. She is pictured as a beautiful lady in red robes with hair as fire. Her priests are chaotic and obsessed with fire. Being the goddess of life, she dislikes Winter but feels kinship with death. Her domains are Fire, Charm, Plants and Sun. She is Chaotic Good. 'Death' Death is the guiding light for the souls of the dead. His minions walk hooded in white robes, trident in hand to guide them over the river of Winter to be judged by Death. He is opposed of chaotic and unnatural death, seeing it as an unnatural way of passing. Because of this, there is feud between the church of Death and the church of Winter. His domains are Death, Earth, Healing and Knowledge. He is lawfull neutral. 'The Trickster' The master of tricks and disguises, both a jester and a fool. The Trickster is a goddess of deceit, wine and all out fun. She is the keeper of secrets and the planner of plots. She does not take many things seriously and acts where she likes. Her domains are Trickery, Luck, Community and Freedom. She is chaotic Neutral. 'The Forger' The all father and greatest of the gods. The Forger is the main deity of the northern Dwarven empire of Dwartica. He is the creator of technology and master of the forge. Even though he is no god of war, many worship him in wartime. The priests of the forger believe that technology and metal are stronger than the flesh and desire efficiency over everything. His domains are Artifice, Smoke, Strength and Metal. He is lawful evil. 'The Siren' The great mother of the lakes and oceans of the world. The siren is a brooding goddess with a history of cruel actions. Appeasing her is difficult but a necessity if one wishes to make travel over sea. On land, she is the one that governs the weather. When she feels greatest triumph or wicked anger, the clouds roar with thunder and storms. Her domains are Darkness, Travel, Water and Weather. She is Neutral Evil. 'Winter' The dark lady, mistress of the undead and bringer of doom. Winter is the dark god of the cold season, but her power is greater than just that. She is one of the war gods, but she demands death as sacrifice for her blessing. She controls the river of souls in the lands of the dead, bringing all who are deemed unworthy of reincarnation to the endless pits of darkness below. In winter, it is her who decides instead of death who will be worthy and who is not. Many fear her church and her priests. Few in number, the command corpses brought back from the dead as guards and servants. She is no god of the undeath, but the undead are a tool for her needs. She favours chaotic and unnatural death, rituals in her church mostly require human sacrifice. Her domains are Death, Cold, Madness and War. She is Chaotic Evil. The Heathen Gods Apart from the pantheon, many other lesser deities remain. Most of them are bound to the material plane in some shape or form, but unable to manipulate it completely. Of the many gods and goddesses, some are known more than others. These are the ones most commonly known. 'Bahamut and Tiamat' The two dragons of old. Bahamut is the last platinum dragon while Tiamat is the last multi-coloured chromatic dragon. They were the ones that brought the true dragons into the world but are now unable to mate and meet. Both slumber on different parts of the world, but their consciousness remains. The alignment of these mighty dragons is unknown, but most consider them evil for they have little care for anything other than their own true born children. 'Obad-Hai' The eldest of the Treants. When the world was just born, before humans or elves walked on the earth, the treants were shaping the world with the other first-born races. The last of these first-born treants was Obad-Hai. He is the keeper of the groves and the greatest tree of the wilds. It is rumoured that its trunk is a hundred yards in radius. Where the great tree slumbers is unknown, but that he remains present in the world is a known fact. He is worshiped by heathen druids or rangers and by many elves. His domain embody the elements and nature combined. Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Plants and Animals. He is true neutral. 'Llolth' The spider queen. In ancient time she was welcome in the upper world but after too many crimes against nature, gods and mortal alike banished her to the deep dark underground where she has remained since. She still influences the world she lives in and she is worshiped by (mostly) evil wizards who try to complete her works in creating the strongest creatures possible for her return. She desires the fusion of beasts and men, and is responsible for many of the foul monsters that remain today. Her greatest nemesis is the Beast. Her form is a humanoid with abdomen of a spider. Three times she has started a great war in history and three times she has been repelled. Only attacking the elven lands and weakening them to the point of defeat they are in now. She is chaotic Evil. 'Papa Legba' The mysterious protector of the Marathi people and other such tribes as well. He is known by many names, the most prominent being the Tithe Collector. This stems from the cost of his blessing; he requires the sacrifice of a single newborn child every ten years from every village in exchange for peace and prosperity. The Marathi believe he is the gatekeeper that stands between the mortal realm and the underworld, however no one has been able to confirm or deny these beliefs. All that is certain is that it is a being of great power, and who's bargains are both a blessing and a curse to those that strike them. His domains are Protection, Death, Trickery and Darkness. He is Lawful Evil.